End-gate



Ntra Sterns END-GATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettlers Patent No. 471,377, dated March 22, 1892.

Application tiled December 18, 1891- Serial No. 4154-505. (No model.)

of the United States, and a resident of Laporte City, in the county of Black Hawk and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in End-Gates; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,

and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in end-gates for wagons; and the objects of the invention are, first, to provide a simple and strong gate adapted to be tightly closed against the rear end of a wagon-body, and, secondly, to provide simple means whereby the gate can be operated by a person in the Wagon.

With these ends in View myinvention consists in the peculiar construction and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully pointed out and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the rear portion of awagonbody having my improved gate attached thereto, showing the gate open. Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the gate closed. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation showing the gate closed, and Fig. 4 is a detail view of the operating-lever.

Like letters of reference denote corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings, referring to which- A designates the body of awagon, which is of the ordinary construction, and B designates a cross-barof the frame thereof. To the sides of the wagon-body are attached in any suitable or desirable manner the angular hangers or brackets C, the free ends of which extend beyond and below the rear end of the wagonbody A. The brackets or hangers C are slotted from near .their free ends to a point in line with the lower edge of the rear end of the body A, as at c.

D is the end-gate, and to this gate, near the sides thereof, are attached metallic straps d, the free ends of which are bent upon themselves to form loops or eyes, through which and the slots c in the brackets or hangers C is passed a headed rod or bar E. One end of this rod E is threaded and a nut F is screwed thereon to prevent endwise or longitudinal movement of the rod. To the rod E, between the head and nut thereon and the brackets C, respectively, are attached one end of the arms or hangers G, the other end of each of such arms being attached to a lug or projection h on an operating-lever H, which is pivotally connected near one end to the body A at fi. The forward end of the lever H is bent outwardly from the side of the wagon-body to form a handle I.

K designates a cleat attached to the side of the body A, and on this cleat rests the forward end of the lever H when the gate D is closed.

L is a link or bar, which has one end connected to the lever H and the other end connected to the side of the end-gate, as at Z.

The end-gate D is provided with side pieces m, which lie against the sides of the body A when the gate is closed, and the inner ends of said side pieces are cut away or recessed, as at 7o n, so as to pass around the ends of the bar B when the gate is in a vertical position.

The end-gate is of greater width than the depth of the body A, and when closed the bottom of the gate bears closely against the bar B below the bottom of the body A, as shown in Fig. 2, and thus makes a tight joint with the end of the Wagon-body.

The operation of myimprovement is as follows: The gate being closed, it can be opened 8o by a person within the wagon by grasping the handle I to raise the free end of the lever H, the parts assuming the positions shown in Fig. 1, and the rod E moving up in the slots c in the brackets C. If desired, the nut F can be unscrewed and the rod E withdrawn to enable the gate D to be removed.

It will be noticed that when the gate is open the handle I extends across the link or bar L, so that the lever I-I and the link L cannot 9o possibly get into the same straight line. The gate can thus be closed simply by pushing thereon without using the levers.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with a Wagon-body, of the slotted brackets or hangers attached to and extending belowthe sides thereof, a rod passing through the slotted hangers, an endroo gate connected to said rod, and an operatinglever fulcrurned on the wagon-body and con- Wagon-body, and connections between said lever and the end-gate and the rod passing through the eyes thereon, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

TARD COOPER.

Witnesses:

F. E. WETTSTEIN, STEPHEN GILLEY. 

